Brussels’ regulation on tourist accommodation are likely to be inconsistent with EU law: an opinion issued by the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union on 5 February 2026
See the full opinion Related LinkedIn posts: Cabinet Concordes & Cabinet Steinberg & Andrieux The conclusions of the Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-813/24 is unequivocal and is reproduced in full below: “139. In the light of the foregoing considerations, I propose that the Court of Justice give the following reply to the Cour d’appel de […]
STR-Belgium responds to the statements of the Brussels Hotels Association (BHA).
STR-Belgium wishes to respond to the statements made by the Brussels Hotels Association (BHA) in the press last week. As a reminder, the Brussels-Capital Region has for many years held the unenviable record of the highest level of informality in non-hotel tourist accommodation (tourist residences) in the European Union (>95%), to the detriment of service […]
Reactions to the article “Most Airbnbs in Brussels are operating illegally” published in L’Echo on Saturday, 23 November 2024
STR-Belgium comments below on the article published in L’Echo on Saturday, November 23. Major legal and economic considerations must complement the issue of the societal impact of short-term rentals, which deserves a far more in-depth and nuanced treatment than the simplistic, binary approach that is systematically applied to it by certain politicians for electoral purposes […]
Second major legal development in one week in the Brussels-Capital Region! The European Union will undoubtedly be the ultimate arbiter of the short-term rental issue — in Brussels, in Catalonia, and across Europe.
One week after the judgment of the Court of First Instance concerning the unlawful conduct of the City of Brussels in failing to process fire safety compliance certificates, the Second Chamber of the Brussels Court of Appeal, in a ruling delivered on November 14, referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union […]
Tourist accommodation case in the Brussels-Capital Region: the Court of First Instance rules against the City of Brussels in a judgment delivered on 7 November 2024
In essence, the French-speaking Court of First Instance of Brussels considered the refusal by the City of Brussels to process applications for fire safety compliance certificates for tourist residences to be unlawful. The City of Brussels has been ordered, subject to penalty payments, to comply (i.e. to acknowledge receipt of and process the applications). Furthermore, […]
Action for annulment against the ordinance of 1 February 2024 relating to tourist accommodation
On Monday, August 5, stakeholders from the non-hotel tourist accommodation sector (owners and property managers) in the Brussels-Capital Region, together with STR-Belgium, filed an action for annulment against the aforementioned ordinance before the Constitutional Court. The press widely covered this development: Television news: BX1, RTBF (3’08’’) Print media: Le Soir, L’Echo, Sudinfo, DH, Bruzz, De […]
Memorandum STR-Belgium – Integration of Short-Term Rental into a Competitive, Innovative and Sustainable Brussels Tourism Market
During this phase of negotiations for the formation of a regional government and on the eve of the municipal elections of October 13, STR-Belgium once again recalls the stakes and the Association’s recommendations to be translated concretely into an action plan to be validated and implemented by the next Government of the Brussels-Capital Region. For […]
STR-Belgium participates in the cross-functional Working Group on the strategic orientations of the PRAS.
On Tuesday, March 19, STR-Belgium was invited by the Share the City team of perspective.brussels to participate in the Cross-Functional Working Group on the strategic orientations of the PRAS (Regional Land Use Plan). This is a vast and ambitious project whose challenge will be to find the right balance between the different priorities involved. STR-Belgium […]
Tourist accommodation ordinance – Summary of the plenary session at the Brussels Parliament of 26 January
Relive the debates in the plenary session of Parliament (from 2:08:15). The vote of the Brussels Parliament came down this Friday, 26 January: with only a very narrow margin (40 votes “in favour” versus 35 votes “against” or “abstentions”), the draft ordinance on tourist accommodation of Minister-President Rudi Vervoort was approved. The Minister-President absolutely wanted […]
Impact analysis for the different groups of voters in the Brussels-Capital Region and beyond – Request to postpone the vote on the draft ordinance – Press Release
Postponing the vote on a draft ordinance that runs counter to the general interest, that destroys an entire sector of economic activity, and that implicitly favours the traditional hotel segment is the duty and responsibility of the members of parliament this Friday, 26 January, in the Brussels Parliament! Discover our impact analysis for the different […]
